vol. 46, no. 1november 9

2015

The Pine Press

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EditorialIf there is one thing I'm good at, it's

procrastination. I haven't written my thesisin two years, I procrastinated in coming outfor several years/decades, depending onhow you look at it... and I haven'tcompleted a Pine Press yet this semester.

But here we go. Inside you'll find basicprofiles for your Executive Committee, andfor a number of houses (if your housedoesn't appear, blame your educationofficer...) plus some dank memes. I'mlooking to move towards more of a zine-style approach and am gathering contentfor the next issue. Expect the next issue outto take home for Thanksgiving and maybebe able to explain to your parents whatexactly a cooperative is ;).

I'd love content! The Pine Press is onlyas good at the group of cooperators thatmakes it. Specifically, I would love forsomeone to do a party review for theupcoming weekend, for example, or writepoetry/fiction/porn. Anything really.

- JMS, "Editor"

Table of Contents2 Editorial

5 Executive Committee Introductions

8 Upcoming Events

12 House Profiles

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Goddess Laverne Says: Cooperate

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Meet the Executive Committee!

President Daniel Morris Newton

Executive Vice President of Education Jessica Sietsema

Raft Hillpresident@msu.coop

"El Capitan"

Bowie/Elsworth

education@msu.coop

pinepress@msu.coop

Gayest gaywho ever gayed

Hello! My name is Daniel Newton and I’ll be serving as president for the duration ofthe 2015-16 academic year. I’ve lived in Apollo for two years and will be spendingmy third and final year in the SHC at Raft Hill. I count myself extremely fortunate tohave found an open spot in the SHC when I did. I had just transferred to MSU, didn’thave many friends in the area, and actually almost lived in a house populatedcompletely with members of a fraternity that shall remain nameless. Both my dadand his little brother were members of co-ops here in East Lansing during the 1970’s(Howland and Hedrick respectively) so, when I found an open space in Apolloonline, I knew what had to be done. I’ve grown to love the cooperative model andwish to continue working with co-ops as a career for as long as I can.

Age: 24 Height: 6'1'' (but really 6' 0.5")

Weight: Don't worry about it Major: Poli Sci (Grad. Spring 2015)

Year's Goals: Fostering member agency in SHC decision-making and increasing SHCinvolvement in our community via neighborhood associations and various citycommissions to help members familiarize themselves with democratic decision-making and encourage their involvement (now and in the future when they’re livingelsewhere) while strengthening SHC ties with our community here in the Lansingarea.

During the semester, I’ll typically be in the office most afternoons during theweek. Feel free to drop by and say hey, or ask any questions you might have.

I’m Jessica Sietsema and I started living in the coops because I was ascared frosh who didn’t want to go live with her parents in the Michigan BibleBelt (just west of GR). I found community and the coops have been my homesince.

I’m a Philosophy major - just need to write my thesis - and probablysomething else but have been taking the last few years slowly while I try tofigure out who the fuck I am and how to live with myself. The coops havebeen great for me, I think, and really opened me up, even as I am havinggrowing pains living in them... I lived in Hedrick for 2.5 years total and movedto Bowie this August.

Honestly I could be almost anything in ten years, and that really scaresme. I’m leaning towards law because I have those verbal skills. It’s just aquestion of I want to put up with the five years of norma-fucking-tive hazingthat is the entry into the law profession, and being a progressive lawyer isbasically a contradiction in terms.

I’ll be honest that I've been strongly with some major depression.Mainly I’ve been doing work on improving institutional norms and process.Toward this end I have been helping with the transition (lol) towards policygovernance which should be… interesting. We’ll see. Also I executed the FallBoard Retreat which was pretty good. I’m the publisher/editor of the PinePress, and given that this is the first edition of the year well, that’s going soswell.

Vice President of Facilities Carley Pagels

Orion House

facilities@msu.coop

Mike McCurdy-Wrangler

My name is Carley Elisabeth Pagels. I’m from a small area not townin Northern Michigan known as Grand Lake. I attend MSU, and am in mysenior year. My degree is in interdisciplinary Social Science with acognate in Anthropology with a specialization in Health Promotion. I amgoing to go to Atlanta, Georgia for Chiropractic school after I graduate(summer 2016 YO). I am very passionate about chiropractic and health ingeneral. In order to keep my health I do yoga, cook, and sleep. For fun ILOVE being out on a lake! I enjoy being surrounded by family and closefriends. Get ahold of me at Orion to chill and chat. GO Green :)

Vice President of Membership Nikki Turek

Hedrick House

vpmembership@msu.coop

"Happyfeet"

21 years youngMajor: Arts & Humanities with a focus on making the world a better place.

I joined the SHC because I am incredibly passionate about communal living andworking with collective energy. I think it's the SHC is coolest opportunity to liveamongst a wide range of individuals and coming together for common goals ofbeing loving and supportive. I also love having the ability to paint my own roomand have kittens rolling around.

Goals: My goals for the SHC this year is to deeply embed ourselves in thesurrounding community by participating in local events, neighborhood clean upsand generally having a loving relationship with our neighbors and members.Another goal, is to make our relationships within the membership morecultivating, supportive, safe and rooted. I intend to do this by creating spaces/meetings that are engaging and constructive. This will also take shape throughmore opportunities such as skill shares, all member gatherings, workshops,potlucks, hayrides, cabin trips and much more to ensure that our members knoweach other, feel comfortable and are truly growing being in the SHC and havinga blast while participating!With endless love and support,

Nikki

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Corporate Treasurer Kevin McCoy

Bowie/Elsworth

finance@msu.coop

El Contador

Corporate Secretary Kennedy Cullen

Beal House

corporatesecretary@msu.coop

Preventing EC PowerGrabs Since 2015

Dearest members of the SHC,

My name is Kennedy Cullen and I am the Corporate Secretary for theSHC. My main duty is to perform evaluations of all the Vice Presidents, aswell as the President (that’s right Dan, not even you are safe). I love to bike,swim, play minecraft, snuggle, and read anything I can get my hands on. I’ma Kinesiology major going into my senior year, and next year I will beattending Palmer College of Chiropractic.

I joined the SHC to be a part of the community of students who aim toexperience and embrace an inclusive and cooperative lifestyle. As soon as Imoved in to my house (Beal), I instantly felt welcome. I have made so manyamazing connections with people and cherish the opportunity to continueliving in such an amazing environment. Big shoutout to my Beallionaires, youguys are the best housemates I could have ever hoped for. 10/10, would livethere forever.

Indubitably yours,

Kennedy

Name: Kevin McCoy

I do the money *wink*

Senior, studying finance

Likes: dogs, things that are cool

Dislikes: stupid things, when my car breaks down

Life goals: hike a mountain on every continent

Favorite season: summer

Reason I love living cooperatively: everyone's voice is heard, andconclusions can be drawn from a group rather than an individual.

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Upcoming Events

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Vesta's BestVest Banger

November 14th

505 M.A.C.

11 - Cousin Tim, Mefda

11.30 - The Young Floods

12 - T.R.I.P.

12.30 - Chief Larsen + the Fire Puppets

1.30 - Whatever Mackley

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11/13

Get Funky Fresh

at Howland

11/14

Phoenix Party ft.

Hot Dad, The Cowards,Mystery DJ's

12/04

Apollo Party

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Remember, Kids:via Nihilisa Frank, A+ webcontent

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House of ApolloThe House of Apollo is unique because its culture is so young since being recolonized

from Avalon. The walls are mostly blank canvasses – so stop on by, live here a while, and

leave your legacy! This year members have significantly improved the house by creating a

second living room and band set-up in the basement. We have also expanded our garden

and refinished our front deck. Lastly, our main living room is almost always clean and is soon

to be expecting new furniture! As for the people who live here, we are all different! We have

a very diverse group of housemates that have many different majors, interests, and hobbies.

Together we form a family-loving type environment where everyone has each other’s backs.

So come live with us and became a fellow Apollonian!

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BealBeal is small and sweet. It's pretty new to the SHC - it existed

as an independent coop until 2009, making it the second-most-recent addition to the system (after Howlandia).

Bowie/ElsworthThe house so nice they named it twice! We are Elsworth,

better known as David Bowie Memorial Coop (yes, he's still alive).We defy norms just like our namesake. We're a collection of kookyhoomans living, sleeping, and loving it up. This house is morethan just an ugly taupe rectangle on Grand River Ave. We havestudy parties, bomb-ass bonfires, cider mill excursions, and post-party brunches. We pride ourselves in our strong meal plan(Sunday through Thursday dinners and two snacks a week) andextensive pantry.

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HedrickThis fall, Hedrick welcomed 12 new house mates and 3 returning. Living in a house with 15

individuals may seem a little daunting but here we choose to thrive in the chaos. As Hedroids, we

quickly learned communication and understanding are the keys to co-op bliss. If you come by, you

might find us engaged in a Super Smash Bros competition, playing one of our various board games,

watching Rick and Morty on a Sunday night, going on an ice cream run to figure out the flavor of the

week at Tasty Twist or relaxing in the plant room with our kitty Khaleesi. We also love preparing and

enjoying our house meals together which always lead to lively discussions and lot of laughter. The

house is very excited for the arrival of fall. We can’t wait to harvest the pumpkins from our garden and

to host our spooky Halloween party at the end of the month. Hedrick house is love. Love is Hedrick

house. <3<3<3

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Howland(ia)It's the big blue one. Howlandia is the newest and bluest house

in the SHC. With the best porch in the 48823 and enough animals toqualify as a zoo (don't tell the City), we're taking on the 2015-16 year.

Education Officer: Carly BlumMembership Officer: Brittini BurtonMaintenance Officer: Ryan OrtizFinance Officer: Shobana GanganithiBoard Rep: Allison Montambeau

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New CommunityWe are New Community Co-op, that badass co-op on Ann st. with the dope deck that

you’re just begging to hang out on. Like most co-ops we’re made up of a bunch of loveablemisfits that work hard, well hard enough to get by, and play a lot harder. We’re those kind ofpeople that know our lives are sorta a shit show, and kinda like it that way, but as close as weget to the proverbial edge, we pull it all together and look great doing it in an effortlesscooler-than-thou kinda way. For real though, you want to live here, and in co-ops in generalbecause of the people, the experiences, the love. You’ll love living in a house full of peoplewith diverse interests and perspectives, full of open and accepting people like yourself. Don’tkid yourself you’ve been begging for a deep connection with someone, anyone, who sharessome common/uncommon interests, or maybe just someone who will listen to you talk for, ohi don’t know, the time it takes to smoke a cigarette or drink a beer. You want to feel part ofsomething, you want to be thrown into a house full of strangers and come out thinking ofthem like family. The name of our house, “New Community,” describes exactly that. Eachyear fifteen unique individuals decide to live cooperatively in our house together and beforeyou know it, each person has become a part of a new community, and what was just a househas become your home, and your housemates; lifelong friends you now think of like family.You gain a social support base, a sense of belonging, lots of fun times, and a love of workingtogether cooperatively for everyone’s collective success because you’ve become more thanjust a unique individual, you’re a part of your house and have a stake in its continuedprosperity. However, it doesn’t end there. You’re also a co-oper and your house is but one offourteen in East Lansing. Always within a short walk away are many other SHC co-ops full oflovely people that would be more than happy to invite you into their home and get down on thedance floor with you to some funky jams.

Pheonix HausWe're a funky fresh home of lovers, no fighters - unless you countthe occasional wrestling match (participation semi-optional). Youcan find Phoenicians focused on academics or hustling during thedays with good, wholesome family fun every night. One favoritepast-time is setting off the fire alarm every few so months, goingstrong since 2013. Otherwise we're noodlin', hula hoopin', Tetrisattackin', instrumental jammin', fandanglin, and otherwise elicitinga good time. There's always someone around to share a laugh orgo to the library with to get that knowledge. To many, Phoenix

might seem a madhouse, but madness has no method.

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Seriously though,Pheonix Haus is home to29 beauts in 11 singlesand 9 dobules. There are

four floors, so manycommon areas, coucheson couhces on couches,and plenty of space to be

both studious orspontaneous. Every wallis a canvas. Even thoughit is the biggest coop inthe good 'ol SHC, the

task master makes sure allhouse jobs are done tokeep this house a home.

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Who's Piloting This Thing???President: Matt "Monkey-Cat" AounHandy Man: Joe "Devil Stick Juggler" FaskiShekel Monitor: Mia "Beautifully Maned" DuboisMembership: Syd "SBS Famous" BurkeEducation: Danielle "Stick" ElleBoard: Zach "Taller than You" Ary

VESTAVesta is located at 505 M.A.C. and is currently home to twenty-two

residents and four cats. Cooking together, studying with one another and hanging out around the house facilitates a culture of freedom and acceptance that all Vestian’s

share. Many instruments can be heard on the weekends giving the home a jazzy atmosphere and lending a unique individuality to

Vesta. Are you interested in joining our community next year? We have a total of fourteen singles and four doubles and have house meals twice a week. If not the beautiful murals, spacious common room or musical charm, the residents of Vesta are sure to

welcome you into this house named after Roman mythology’s goddess of hearth, home and family.

Via former Ferencian, Laura Drotar:

The Pine Press is a publication of the Student Housing Cooperative, Inc.All inquiries can be directed to pinepress@msu.coop